A/N: Forgot to mention, this story is hence forth dedicated to "Rogue-Scholar-Blue". Why? Because his story "The Ties that Bind" inspired me to write this. Is that a good enough reason? Good.

Disclaimer: And now the fun begins.

Whatever Comes Next

Busted and Grounded

"So, what exactly are you going to tell your Mother?" Arcee asked Jack , as the two made their way back to his house.

"Huh?" Jack asked sleepily.

"You do have an excuse, right?" Arcee asked, with a hint of sarcasm. If she knew Jack...

Jack took a moment before he answered. "Well, sorta. Though, I have no idea if it'll work."

"Jack..." Arcee groaned, "If I have to spend one more weekend trapped in your garage..."

Jack quickly went on the defensive. "Hey! It's not my fault the Con's attacked us and I was late for curfew. Again. If I could only tell my mom about -"

"Don't even think about it Hot-shot." Arcee warned, her voice becoming stern. She rounded the corner to Jack's street. "I already told you. The fact that you, Raf, and Miko know about us is already too much risk. If your mother found out that you face danger from the Con's on a nearly daily basis, how quick do you think it'll be before we can no longer see each other?"

"I guessing, faster than a nano-click?" Jack guessed, a hint of humor coming to his voice.

"Got that right." She laughed as she triggered the garage door.

"Scrap." Jack/Arcee whispered at the same time. There, standing in the garage with her arms folded and look on her face that would make Optimus Prime cower in fear, stood Mrs. Darby.

"Jackson William Darby." June Darby nearly growled as he and Arcee pulled into the garage. "Explain yourself."

"Uh... hey Mom." Jack offered as greeting, as he "cut" Arcee's engine.

"Don't you 'hey mom' me. Where have you been, young man?" June demanded. Jack visibly winced at the use of that term. As did Arcee, though mentally. He dismounted Arcee and removed his helmet.

"I, uh, was hanging out with Miko... and I-" Jack began his not-so-well practiced excuse. June, however, wasn't having it.

"Don't even try that one, Jack. I called Miko's mother. She says she hasn't seen you for a week."

Jack placed his helmet on his work bench, and tried to come up with another excuse. "Did I say Miko. Sorry, I must be more tired than I thought. I was helping Raf with-"

"I also checked with Rafael's mother." June explained. "Care to try again?"

Jack didn't know what to do. He was out of excuses (which didn't involve the truth) and he couldn't think of anymore. And somehow, he knew, his mother knew that as well.

Shaking her head in disappointment, June held out her hand, palm up. "Phone."

Sighing, Jack took out his cell phone, and handed it to her. He braced himself for what he knew was coming next.

"No job. No phone. No computer. No motorcycle. You will go straight to school and come straight home." June declared as she pocketed her son's cellphone. "You will be using your ten speed. Keys."

Jack reluctantly handed over Arcee's "keys", then asked the dreadful question. "How long?"

"Two weeks." June answered.

"Two weeks?" Jack balked. "I can't leave Arcee locked in the garage for two weeks."

What did he just say? Arcee panicked.

"What did you just say?" June asked, a look of confusion etching her face.

Jack, realizing he had slipped up, backpedaled quickly. "Arcee. I said Arcee. My bike. That's what I call her. You know, for fun."

"Well, be that as it may, you should have considered that before you broke your curfew." June said, shaking her head again. "You have to be taught a lesson."

Jack scratched the back of his right hand, then said "Well, she needs a tune up, and needs to be ran constantly so that her engine doesn't seize -"

Watch it, Kid... Arcee warned mentally.

"- you know? Could I at least get a friend of mine to take care of her?"

June looked skeptically at her son. "A friend? Who?"

"Uh... no one you know." Jack explained, "Just a girl I'm sorta friendly with. Her name is Sadie."

"Sadie?" June repeated, "And you... trust her with "Arcee"?"

Jack pretended to think for a second before answering. "Well, yeah. I guess. I mean, she's kind of hot tempered, and can be a real pain sometimes-"

That's it. I'm going to kill him. Arcee decided. I don't care what Optimus says.

"-But deep down, she's really sweet. And I know she'll help me out no matter what. That's why I trust her."

Smooth talker. Maybe I won't hurt him. Arcee relented, then added as an after thought, Too much.

Sighing deeply, June lapsed into silence before answering. "Fine. Your friend Sadie can take your motorcycle out for a spin on a daily basis," Jack looked at his mom with shock "but she must return it before night fall. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Mom." Jack nodded his head, looking defeated. He scratched his hand again.

June looked concerned, and her voice mirrored it "What's wrong with your hand, Jack?"

Jack looked at his mom, and then at his hand. There seemed to be a small scratch, no longer than an inch, on the back of his hand, and it was really itchy.

"I don't know," Jack answered. "But it really itches."

June took his hand gently in hers, and examined it closely. "Hm. It's not actively bleeding, which is good. But it does seem infected. Go inside and treat it with the first aid kit. That should help stop the itch. In the mean time, I got to get ready for work."

Jack nodded his head in agreement, and turned to go inside. However, as he walked by Arcee's front wheel, she gentle, and subtlety, nudged his leg. Catching the unspoken hint, Jack stopped and turned around to face his mom.

"Hey, Mom? I'm sorry, for well, worrying you." Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck.

June's face looked sympathetic. "I don't care where you go, Jack. Just as long as you're safe, and that you come home on time. That's why -"

Her explanation was cut short, however, when Jack's cell suddenly rang.

"Hello?" June answered, sounding confused.

"Oh, hello, is Jack around?" a young female voice answered from the other end.

"I'm afraid Jack is grounded, and can't come to the phone right now. May I ask who's calling?" June explained. Jack flushed with embarrassment.

"Oh. Well, yeah." the female said, "You probably don't know me, but I'm a friend of Jack's. My name is Sadie, and I-"

"Sadie?" June repeated. Jack looked confused, and glanced at Arcee, then back at his mom. "What a coincidence, we were just talking about you."

"Really? Did he say anything nice about me?" Sadie asked in a joking tone. When June didn't respond, she continued. "Anyways, I was just calling to see if he got home alright. He seemed pretty tired this morning when he left my place."

"When he left...?" June trailed off, then recovered "Just what were you two up to last night?"

"Well... I'm not sure I should be the one to tell you this, Ms. Darby..." Sadie said, sounding hesitant.

"Well, Sadie, his social life hangs in the balance," June stated. "So I would suggest, for Jack's sake, that you tell me what happened."

Sadie cleared her throat before answering. "Well, you see, Ms. Darby, Jack's grades have been slipping a bit a school, so he came to me for help. Last night, our studying ran a little late, so I suggested he just crash on my couch. He forgot to set his alarm, and it was really to late to call you."

"His grades have been slipping?" June asked, "Excuse me for a second Sadie. Jack? Why didn't you tell me you were being tutored?"

Jack, for his part, tried to look shameful. "I didn't want you to worry. It's kinda embarrassing, you know?"

"And the fact you slept over at a girls house last night, didn't seem to bother you that it would bother me?" June asked, going into "panicked mother mode".

Jack waved his hands widely in front of his face. "Wait just a second Mom. Nothing happened. She's a tutor and a friend. Yes she's female. And yes I'm male. But you don't need to worry. Okay?"

"It's true, Mrs. D." Sadie supported from the other end "Jack's a great kid, but we're just friends. Besides, he's a little too young, and too short, for me."

"Oh. I see." June blushed. "Well, ahem, thank you for calling me, and explaining the situation. I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that Jack isn't grounded anymore." Jack's face lit up, "However, he is under probation."

"Got it, Mrs. D." Sadie said. "I'll make sure that now more late-night studying happens. Tell Jack I said bye."

"Goodbye, Sadie." June said. She then snapped it closed, and handed it back to Jack. "You're lucky to have such a nice girl as a friend Jack."

"Yeah, I know." Jack smiled. He glanced at the time on the screen, before putting it back in his pocket. "Oh shoot Mom, it's after seven."

June looked worried. "I'm going to be late for work. I can't make it in time now. I still need to get dressed."

Again, Arcee nudged Jack in the leg. He got the hint. "Don't' worry about that, Mom. Just go get dressed, and I'll get you to work on time."

"On your motorcycle?" Jun asked.

"You said you wanted me to give you a ride." Jack shrugged. "And besides, I can get you there faster then your car."

"Okay. Sure." June agreed. "Give me 15 minutes, and I'll be right down." With that, she dashed out of the garage and into the house.

Once the coast was clear, Arcee changed into her robot mode. With a laugh she asked, "Who's got your back?"

Jack laughed too. "Oh my god. Arcee, you're amazing. How did you come up with that excuse?"

"I'm older than you know, Jack." She said, shaking her head. "You tend to learn things over time. And to think on your feet."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, thank goodness for that. You saved me from a lot of boredom and pain."

"I wouldn't be a very good Guardian if I couldn't save you from being grounded, now would I?" Arcee asked sarcastically.

Jack shook his head. "You've been hanging around Miko too long." When Arcee quirked her "eyebrow" at him, he quickly added, "But I'm not complaining. Thanks for helping."

"Let's not make a habit of this, okay?" Arcee asked, smiling. "There's only so many times your mom will fooled by the whole 'tutor' thing."

"No problem there, Arcee." Jack smiled back. He scratched his hand, again, as it began to bother him. Again.

Arcee gently took his hand in hers. "Let me take a look at that." Jack watched as Arcee's photo receptors spun and adjusted, much like a camera lens. He knew that she was using he telescopic vision to get a better look at his scratch.

"Huh." She said, after a few seconds. "You got a piece of metal stuck in there. Here -" the tip of her index finger changed into a small pair of tweezers, and will skill comparable to Ratchet's, she removed to sliver from his hand. "-better?"

Jack removed his hand and flexed it a few times. "Yeah. Much better. Thanks again, Arcee."

"Like I said -" Arcee began, but Jack cut her off.

"-You wouldn't be much of a Guardian if you couldn't help me."

She smirked at his attitude. "Watch it, Hot-shot."

"Yes, Ma'am." Jack said, trying to hide his smile.

Before she could respond, however, the side garage door opened, and she barely made it to her travel mode as June walked back into the garage.

"Phew." June breathed. "I'm ready. All set, Jack?"

Jack placed his helmet on his head, and straddled Arcee. "Climb aboard, Mom. I'll show you what 'Arcee' can really do."

June grabbed a spare helmet from Jack's bench and nervously climbed on behind her son. With a kick of the 'starter', from Jack, Arcee roared to life, and speed out of the shelter, making sure to close the door on the way out.

June's scream from the sudden acceleration was drowned out as Arcee gunned her engine.

TBC

A/N: Ah, Mother's. No matter where you live, they're all the same. Am I right. Also, on a side note, I know this seems familiar to that one scene from "Crisscross", but I did write this chapter before watching that episode. Pleased don't hate me.